Story highlights

Palestinian government says strike killed 16 people and injured more than 200

IDF says it's investigating and it's possible a rocket from Gaza was responsible

At least 16 people were killed and many more were wounded when a U.N. shelter in northern Gaza was hit during Thursday's fighting, officials said.

John Ging, director of the U.N.'s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, confirmed to CNN's Christiane Amanpour that 16 died in the strike. Numbers were still coming in as to how many people were wounded, he said.

A Palestinian government statement condemned the incident, calling it "Israeli brutal aggression that targeted" Gaza's displaced. It demanded an end to the "Israeli war machine."

The strike wounded more than 200, most of them women and children, the statement said. It also said the death toll was 16.

It's unclear who was behind the incident. The Israeli military said it could have been a rocket fired from Gaza that fell short of Israel and exploded.

Just Watched

School attack leaves Gazan kids wounded

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Cairo, was irate.

"I am telling to the parties -- both Israelis and Hamas, Palestinians, that it is morally wrong to kill your own people," he said. "Whole world has been watching, is watching with great concern. You must stop fighting. And enter into dialogue.

"Whatever grievances you may have, this is wrong. Why are you continuing to kill people? There are many other ways to resolve this issue without killing each other."

The coordinates of the school in Beit Hanoun, which was serving a shelter for families in Gaza, had been given to the Israeli military, said a U.N. spokesman, Chris Gunness.

Footage from the school showed pools of blood and images from hospitals showed absolute chaos. There were so many victims than many gurneys included two wounded children.

One father carried his small daughter into the hospital. There wasn't much the dad could do but try to comfort his little girl as she cried and begged for him not to leave her.

In another area a mortician wrapped up the body of a 1-year-old girl who was killed.

All the while people wandered through the halls, trying desperately to find where their loved ones had been taken.

A CNN crew that visited the school three hours after the hit discovered a one-inch deep hole in the concrete in the courtyard where people were killed and injured. It appeared shrapnel struck people within a 30-meter radius. Walls were hit as high as about eight meters above the ground.

CNN personnel didn't see the remnants of any rocket or missile.

Some witnesses told CNN there were three to four explosions.

Fighting in the area

An Israel Defense Forces statement said militants had shot at the Israeli military and the IDF responded with "fire toward the origins of the shooting."

The IDF said it had told people at the school to evacuate because of the fighting in the area and given a four-hour window to get people out. Israeli officials told CNN they had warned U.N. officials for three days to evacuate.

Shortly after the strike, Gunness tweeted that the coordinates of the shelter had been given to the Israeli military and that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency had twice tried to coordinate with the Israeli military to evacuate the civilians at the shelter.

The shelter is in an area that has seen intense fighting recently.

Gunness posted: "Precise co-ordinates of the UNRWA shelter in Beit Hanoun had been formally given to the Israeli army. ... " Then minutes later, he tweeted: "Over the course of the day UNRWA tried 2 coodinate with the Israeli Army a window for civilians 2 leave & it was never granted. ..."

It is unclear how many people were in the shelter, but U.N. schools can typically hold up to 1,500 people.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which is helping shelter Palestinians displaced by the conflict, said that 140,000 residents have taken refuge in 83 schools in Gaza that are swerving as shelters

On Wednesday, Ban announced he was ordering a review of incidents where rockets were placed at United Nations Relief and Works Agency schools. Ban demanded that militants stop endangering civilians by putting rockets at the shelters.

Just Watched

School attack leads to finger pointing

Israel-Gaza crisis – Palestinians in Gaza celebrate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on Tuesday, August 26. After more than seven weeks of heavy fighting, Israel and Hamas agreed to an open-ended ceasefire that puts off dealing with core long-term issues.

Hide Caption

1 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Palestinians inspect the damage to a residential building following several late night Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on August 26.

Hide Caption

2 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Gila, center, mother of 4-year-old Israeli boy Daniel Tragerman, sits next to his grave during his funeral near the Israel-Gaza border on Sunday, August 24.

Hide Caption

3 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Palestinians run away from debris after a bomb from an Israeli airstrike hit a house in Gaza on Saturday, August 23.

Hide Caption

4 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – An Israeli soldier smokes a cigarette in a large concrete pipe used as shelter at an army deployment point near the Israeli-Gaza border on Wednesday, August 20.

Hide Caption

5 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Light trails made by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip stand out against the night sky on Tuesday, August 19. Despite efforts to come to a peaceful agreement, Gaza militants launched rockets into Israel on Tuesday, and Israel responded with its own rockets.

Hide Caption

6 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – An injured Palestinian man is helped into the Shifa hospital in Gaza City on August 19.

Hide Caption

7 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Police examine the remains of a rocket launched from Gaza that landed near the kibbutz of Yad Mordechay on August 19.

Hide Caption

8 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on August 19.

Hide Caption

9 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Islam El Masri begins to sort through the rubble of her destroyed home in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, on Thursday, August 14.

Hide Caption

10 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Israelis gather in Tel Aviv during a protest August 14 calling on the government and the army to end Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza once and for all.

Hide Caption

11 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Smoke rises in Gaza City after an airstrike on Saturday, August 9.

Hide Caption

12 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Israeli soldiers walk past a Merkava tank as they patrol a field near Israel's border with Gaza on August 9.

Hide Caption

13 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – A Palestinian boy salvages family belongings from the rubble of a four-story building after an airstrike in Gaza City on Friday, August 8.

Hide Caption

14 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Israelis flee after a rocket fired from Gaza hit the residential neighborhood of Sderot, Israel, on August 8.

Hide Caption

15 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – A Palestinian man looks out over destruction in the al-Tufah neighborhood of Gaza City on Wednesday, August 6.

Hide Caption

16 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Displaced Palestinians carry their belongings as they leave a United Nations school in Beit Lahiya, Gaza, to return to their homes Tuesday, August 5.

Hide Caption

17 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – The body of Avrohom Wallis is carried during his funeral in Jerusalem on Monday, August 4. Wallis was killed in what Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld called a "terror attack," when a man drove an earthmover into a bus in Jerusalem.

Hide Caption

18 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Israeli soldiers fire a mortar shell toward Gaza from the Israeli side of the border on August 4.

Hide Caption

19 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Palestinians remove rubble from a house hit by an airstrike in the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on August 4.

Hide Caption

20 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – An Israeli drone circles over Gaza City on Sunday, August 3.

Hide Caption

21 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – A Palestinian man sits in a hospital in Rafah, Gaza, on August 3.

Hide Caption

22 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – An honor guard caries the coffin of Israeli Lt. Hadar Goldin during his funeral in Kfar-saba, Israel, on August 3. Goldin was thought to have been captured during fighting in Gaza but was later declared killed in action by the Israel Defense Forces.

Hide Caption

23 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – A Palestinian boy looks for belongings after an airstrike in Rafah on Saturday, August 2.

Hide Caption

24 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Israeli soldiers walk to their tank at a staging area near the border with Gaza on August 2.

Hide Caption

25 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – A young Palestinian carries damaged copies of the Quran from the rubble of the Imam Al Shafaey mosque in Gaza City on August 2.

Hide Caption

26 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Palestinians displaced from their houses return to check their homes in Gaza City on Friday, August 1.

Hide Caption

27 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – An Israeli soldier carries a shell as he prepares a tank along the Israel-Gaza border on Thursday, July 31. Israel called up 16,000 additional reservists, bolstering forces for its fight against Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza.

Hide Caption

28 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Smoke rises from a building after an airstrike in Rafah on July 31.

Hide Caption

29 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – The parents and a sister of Israeli soldier Guy Algranati mourn during his funeral in Tel Aviv on July 31.

Hide Caption

30 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – U.N. workers remove a donkey injured at a U.N.-run school in Gaza on Wednesday, July 30.

Hide Caption

31 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Palestinians walk under the collapsed minaret of a destroyed mosque in Gaza City on July 30.

Hide Caption

32 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Palestinians gather leaflets that fell from an Israeli plane on July 30. The leaflets warned residents of airstrikes in Gaza City.

Hide Caption

33 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Israelis take cover from a Palestinian rocket attack from Gaza during the funeral of Israeli soldier Meidan Maymon Biton, which was held at a cemetery in Netivot, Israel, on Tuesday, July 29.

Hide Caption

34 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Smoke and fire rise above Gaza City after an Israeli airstrike on July 29.

Hide Caption

35 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – An Israeli soldier prays on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza on July 29 as smoke billows from the only power plant supplying electricity to Gaza.

Hide Caption

36 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Near the rubble of their home in Rafah, Palestinian men mourn July 29 for people killed during an airstrike.

Hide Caption

37 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – A Palestinian man places a portrait of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya on the rubble of Haniya's Gaza City home July 29 after it was hit by an overnight airstrike.

Hide Caption

38 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Flares from Israeli forces light up the night sky of Gaza City on July 29.

Hide Caption

39 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Israeli soldiers carry the coffin of 2nd Lt. Roy Peles, an infantry officer who was killed in combat, during his funeral in Tel Aviv on Sunday, July 27.

Hide Caption

40 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – During a 12-hour cease-fire in Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood on Saturday, July 26, a Palestinian man sits atop a car filled with belongings that were salvaged from a destroyed home.

Hide Caption

41 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Israeli soldiers watch a bomb explode along the border with Gaza before the 12-hour cease-fire on July 26.

Hide Caption

42 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – As her brother-in-law Mazen Keferna weeps on the ground, Manal Keferna cries upon discovering her family home destroyed by airstrikes in Beit Hanoun on July 26.

Hide Caption

43 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Palestinians dig a body out of the rubble of a destroyed house in Gaza during the cease-fire on July 26.

Hide Caption

44 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – An Israeli soldier mourns at the grave of reserve Master Sgt. Yair Ashkenazy during his funeral at the military cemetery in Rehovot, Israel, on Friday, July 25. Ashkenazy was killed during operations in northern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces reported.

Hide Caption

45 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – A Palestinian man cries after bringing a child to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya on Thursday, July 24. The child was wounded in a strike on a school that was serving as a shelter for families in Gaza. It's unclear who was behind the strike. The Israeli military said it was "reviewing" the incident, telling CNN that a rocket fired from Gaza could have been responsible.

Hide Caption

46 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Israeli soldiers carry a wounded soldier to a helicopter near the Israel-Gaza border on July 24.

Israel-Gaza crisis – A trail of blood is seen in the courtyard of the school that was hit July 24 in the Beit Hanoun district of Gaza.

Hide Caption

49 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – An Israeli tank fires toward Gaza from a position near Israel's border on July 24.

Hide Caption

50 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – A photograph tweeted by astronaut Alexander Gerst on Wednesday, July 23, shows major cities of Israel and Gaza. Gerst said in his tweet: "My saddest photo yet. From #ISS we can actually see explosions and rockets flying over #Gaza & #Israel."

Hide Caption

51 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – A woman in Philadelphia passes by a departure board that shows US Airways Flight 796, scheduled to fly to Tel Aviv, has been canceled on Tuesday, July 22. The Federal Aviation Administration told U.S. airlines they were temporarily prohibited from flying to the Tel Aviv airport after a Hamas rocket exploded nearby.

Hide Caption

52 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Smoke and fire from the explosion of an Israeli strike rise over Gaza City on July 22.

Hide Caption

53 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – A relative of Israeli soldier Jordan Ben-Simon mourns over his coffin during his funeral in Ashkelon, Israel, on July 22.

Hide Caption

54 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Palestinians inspect destroyed buildings and collect usable items after an Israeli air assault on July 22.

Hide Caption

55 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Israeli soldiers weep at the grave of Israeli Sgt. Adar Barsano during his funeral Sunday, July 20, in Nahariya, Israel.

Hide Caption

56 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Palestinian medics carry a body in Gaza's Shaja'ia district on July 20.

Hide Caption

57 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Israeli soldiers give medical care to soldiers who were wounded during an offensive in Gaza on July 20.

Hide Caption

58 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – A Palestinian boy injured during an Israeli airstrike is taken to the hospital by his father in Gaza City on July 20.

Hide Caption

59 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – Palestinians flee their homes as Israeli troops focus their firepower on the Gaza town of Shaja'ia on Sunday, July 20. The shelling and bombing killed at least 60 people and wounded 300, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel-Gaza crisis – Israeli soldiers patrol near the Israel-Gaza border on July 18.

Hide Caption

65 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – A relative mourns July 18 during the funeral of Rani Abu Tawila, a Palestinian who was killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City.

Hide Caption

66 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – A Palestinian demonstrator, protesting Israel's military operation in Gaza, runs through smoke July 18 during clashes with Israeli soldiers at the entrance of the Ofer prison in the West Bank village of Betunia.

Hide Caption

67 of 73

Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis73 photos

Israel-Gaza crisis – This image, made from video shot through a night-vision scope, was released by the Israeli military on July 18. It shows troops moving through a wall opening during the early hours of the ground offensive in Gaza.

Just Watched

Middle East propaganda war

Thursday's strike marks the third time a U.N. school serving as a shelter has been hit.

The first occurred on July 22 in eastern Gaza, where about 300 people were staying, the UNRWA said. The second occurred Wednesday in central Gaza at a shelter were about 1,500 were staying.

News of Thursday's hit on the shelter also comes as the Israeli military said the number of airstrikes it was launching had been lowered.

Israel Defense Forces said it hit 35 terror targets overnight. A day earlier, the number was 187.

The Israeli military also reported a sharp fall in the number of rockets fired from Gaza early Thursday, although as the day wore on, more rockets were lofted toward Israel, some in the direction of the international airport in Tel Aviv.

But the human cost of the conflict remains clear. It can be seen in the blocks of rubble that line Gaza neighborhoods, where the Israeli military has relentlessly bombed. It's evident in the frayed nerves of Israeli citizens who dive into bomb shelters as Hamas rockets fly in their direction on a daily basis.

At least 797 people have been killed and more than 5100 wounded since the start of an Israeli operation on Gaza, said Dr. Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry. On Thursday, 107 people were killed, he said.

An Israeli military representative said Thursday that the violence has killed 32 soldiers and three civilians.

Twokilled at West Bank protest

Two Palestinian men were shot and killed during a demonstration in the West Bank in support of residents of Gaza, Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Barghouti said.

He said more than 15,000 people were marching when Israeli soldiers fired. More than 100 people were wounded, he said. The health minister in Ramallah said 185 of the wounded were brought there for treatment.

Mosques using loudspeakers called for people to donate blood at hospitals, Palestinian television reported.

Protesters were "throwing rocks, firebombs and fireworks" at Israeli security forces, the Jerusalem Post reported. The newspaper, which put the size of the demonstration at 10,000 people, said 13 Israeli police officers were injured.

Diplomatic efforts, some flights to Israel resume

Kerry was back in Cairo, continuing his shuttle diplomacy to forge a truce a day after meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as well Secretary-General Ban.

Just Watched

U.N. calls for immediate end to violence

"Over the last few days, Secretary Kerry has been engaged with the Israelis, Palestinians, Egyptians, Europeans, the U.N., the Arab League, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) to determine how to achieve an end to the current violence and build a process that can create a sustainable path forward," White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said.

The diplomatic effort wasn't solely limited to the United States, as several Middle Eastern nations worked to try to win Hamas' agreement for an Egyptian-led cease-fire. Hamas said Turkey and Kuwait were also involved.

Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines joined Air Canada and United Airlines in resuming flights to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, airline spokesman Morgan Durrant said. It has been a day and a half since the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration imposed the prohibition of flights to the city because of security concerns.

On Thursday, Lufthansa Group canceled all Lufthansa, Germanwings, Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Brussels Airlines flights flying to and from Tel Aviv through Friday. Lufthansa said in a statement that it "acknowledges the considerable efforts" Israel has made to protect the airport using its "Iron Dome" -- system that targets incoming rockets and fires an interceptor missile to destroy them in the air.

When Lufthansa is assured that protection can be "verifiably guaranteed" it will resume flights.

Passengers who were booked on canceled flights can rebook free of charge or have their ticket price refunded, the carrier added.

The canceling of flights has caused some controversy which continued Thursday with CNN's Wolf Blitzer asking Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid about it.

The FAA's ban was "a major setback to Israel," Blitzer said.

"Yes, it was and it was wrong," Lapid answered.

"It was a win for Hamas, right?" Blitzer said.

Yair responded by saying that Los Angeles International Airport was "ten times" more dangerous that Ben Gurion International though he acknowledges that a rocket had landed about a mile from the airport.

"It's totally safe to fly to Israel," he said, "and I recommend it by the way to everyone who wants to come in."